Velora
The click of the penthouse door brought the busy night to an end. Velora abandoned her heels near the entrance, not bothering to put them away. The emerald dress, literally a source of confidence now felt like a costume she had to take over after a show. Haynes. Just Haynes. The name felt like he was hiding something, like a stage name for a really annoying actor who kept making things up as he went along, adding unnecessary suspense to everything.
At her bar, she found a crystal bottle of scotch. Tonight called for something strong enough to wash away the bad feeling Haynes had left on her. She poured a lot, the amber drink swirling in the glass. One sip. Another. It burnt as it went down her throat, a perfect distraction from the worry she felt.
Haynes. She finally had a name. But it was just five letters that told her nothing. Anybody could bear the name Haynes. It felt like trying to grab a shadow, you know it's there but when you try to hold, your hand holds nothing. The pen lay on the counter, plain and black with so much significance and so many questions. Hope and Harmony Foundation. A charity party, a random meeting, a gift. It was a hint put there on purpose, and knowing Haynes, the trail will likely lead to somewhere dangerous.
A small, bitter laugh escaped her lips. The man liked to be dramatic. She would give him that. Saying confusing things like a fortune cookie and then disappearing like a magician. And then the pen? It was almost funny how normal it was. Yeah, she was a pro at lying and getting information and her main clue was usually something you could probably steal from a bank counter.
She picked up the pen and twirled it between her fingers. Hope and Harmony. The name itself felt too sweet and positive completely contrasting the feeling of threat Haynes gave off. Was it a real clue? Or just a way to make sure she showed up at the meeting?
Her mind raced as she put together the few pieces she had. A ghost of a man with eyes that saw so much and a forbidden middle name whispered and there was Lilith coming back like the snake she was, crawling back into her garden. It felt like the world was suddenly throwing a really unpleasant party and she was forced to be there against her will.
Sighing, she walked over to her laptop. Haynes might be hiding his identity but everyone left little marks, even ghosts. She typed, 'Haynes' into the search engine, hoping it might show something, anything. The results filled the screen, so many profiles, so many people bearing the name.
"Smart Jerk." She muttered, leaning back in her chair. He wasn't some newbie playing in the dark. He was experienced. Someone who knew how to move without being seen, which made him even more dangerous.
The pen. Her gaze went back to it. It was the only real link she had to him. The gala. She pulled up the foundation's websites, looking through the list of people in charge, sponsors, anyone connected. Faces flashed across the screen, kind people, local important people, the usual mix of people who wanted to help and those who just wanted their pictures taken. His face wasn't there, not surprisingly.
She clicked on the 'About Us' section, reading what the foundation said about itself. "Helping poor kids and making the community better." It sounded too good to be true given the bad feeling she had after meeting him.
An idea hit her. The waitress had said Haynes asked her to give Velora the pen if she came back. It wasn't a sure thing. He had guessed she would be curious, he knew she wouldn't let the 'talk' at the rooftop bar be the end. The pen wasn't just a clue, it was an invitation to his game and by his rules.
A small smug smile appeared on her lips. He wanted to play? Fine. She was more than happy to do it. But ghosts? She had learned, were only scary if you believed in them and Velora Alvaro had stopped believing in them a long time ago.
She kept on scrolling, looking for his name or any clue of him and she finally came across it. His picture. Haynes Rosàrio. Business mogul. Billionaire. Owned a couple of tech companies and was into real estate. He was one of the major sponsors of the Hope and Harmony Foundation.
"How the…" Velora muttered to herself as she read more about him. From the website, he was just some billionaire guy with a heart out for kids. That was very far from the person who had called her 'Louisa'. The man looked like he could kill anybody he wanted at any time. What was a man like that doing looking for her? What was his mission with her? What exactly did he want?
More articles popped up. Mr. Businessman, generous guy, shaking hands and cutting ribbons with a warm smile that was very different from the smug smirk and intense gaze he always had whenever he was around her.
She let out a sharp exhale and poured more content of the glass into her mouth and down her throat. One thing she had come to understand was that Haynes Rosàrio only let you know what he wanted you to know about it. He gave his name, the foundation and every link she had to find him. She hadn't really found out anything by herself from all the digging she had done. Whoever the guy was, he was very experienced.
'Louisa.' The name still sat in her mind. That was the name her mother used to call her when she was alive. She had buried that name together with her mother. Knowing that name meant he knew her mother or he knew about her past. He knew how much the name would affect her. He was digging into her past like an archeologist with a weird obsession.
A new feeling of unsettlement washed over her. The man knew too much and the way he had casually spoken about it left her worried. She leaned back in her chair. A billionaire businessman with a mysterious interest in a mafia assassin. It didn't sound right. There was definitely something linking them, and that Foundation felt like the perfect place to start digging from.
The underworld network. He'd mentioned it casually. Black Widow. Only people related to the underworld knew her as that. He wasn't just some outsider. He knew their language and he seemed to understand how they operated. The questions were; how deep was his knowledge? What were his connections? Did he belong to the underworld?
She opened a new search and typed in his name. His picture was there staring back at her, like he was watching her with that intense stare. Nothing concrete, just baseless rumours about his company that were probably spurred out of envy by another company.
She stood up and paced about her room. This wasn't just about some billionaire with a strange stalking hobby. It seemed more personal, more intentional. And Velora Alvaro wasn't one who took being studied and stalked likely.
Time to turn the tables on this son of a bitch.